For the love of all that is Holy.....HELP

[Bruce_Wayne 0]

Just received OFF 2 weeks ago and it is absolutely stunning. Everything I had hoped for. It is , however, bloody difficult!!! I am now on my 12th pilot as the first 11 never made it past the 5 mission point. The young chap I'm flying now seems to have a bit more pluck. I'm flying with the RNAS out of St Pol sur Mer in the hopes of one day flying with Raymond Collishaw's "Black Flight". Here's my problem, so far I've downed 7 enemy planes, 3 of which were Halberstadt D.IIs I downed over my own airfield during a raid, but after my last mission I received the sobering news that HQ had denied all of my submitted claims. Now I'm sitting here depressed, dejected, and deflated with my willingness to fly temporarily sapped. Any tips on how to better ensure my claims are accepted? There's nothing more humiliating than walking into the duty room and having the other chaps look at you askance because your claims far outweigh your confirms.

I do tend to break formation and wander off on my own, which ensures that if I manage to score a victory there are no "friendlies" around to see it, but I thought for sure that my 3 victories over the airfield would be confirmed even though the rest of my Squadron that took to the skies with me that day were shot down. Any advice, tips, or loose change would be greatly appreciated!

As a sidebar, I also flamed a sausage and was congratulated when I got back to base for my successful ground strike but ,alas, no addition to my goose egg score. Do we Brits not acknowledge busted balloons as victories?

[Hauksbee 103]

It is , however, bloody difficult!!! I am now on my 12th pilot

It is a problem, tho' if there's a way around it, it's not been discussed here.

[JohnGresham 0]

It is a problem, tho' if there's a way around it, it's not been discussed here.

 

Well, at the risk of stating the obvious, staying alive in the skies of WWI was 'bloody difficult'. If you want to rack up the flying hours you probably need to be a little less gung-ho and stick with your flight when out on patrol. Going over the 'dicta Boelcke' and Mannock's rules for engagement is always a useful exercise. Then try to put them into practice when out on patrol.

[Bullethead 12]

Wecome aboard, Bruce. New guy buys the drinks

 

Don't expect to live very long, at least at high realism settings. There's a reason why just making it to 17 hours of flying time is quite an achievement ;). The main way to survive is to limit the chances you take, such as not flying off on your own, only fight when you have the advantage of energy and/or numbers, and don't trouble trouble until trouble troubles you.

 

On the claim confirmation thing, there have been several threads on that subject already. On the hardest setting for confirmations, you pretty much have to have a witness from your squadron and also write something closely resembling the actual reports filed by WW1 pilots, with as much detail as you can remember. These threads usually have several examples.

[Olham 164]

Hi, Bruce!

You could try the workshop setting "easy claims - bypass confirmation" or so.

 

If you don't want that, you got to list in the above field: ALL your witnesses/wingmen. You can even write the leader of flight

one in there, if he was with you (I once wrote Manfred von Richthofen in, as he was leader of flight 1, and near me at the time,

and that was accepted).

But if your mates all died, you ain't got nobody to confirm. Groundcrew doesn't count (I think it's almost impossible to program

into the basis of CFS3). In that case, do what the rest of us does in such moments: go to the mess and cool down your blood

with some cold pints; and care for your wing mates better next time.

[Waldemar Kurtz 1]

expect to die-- A LOT. there's no way around it. you can change the outcomes, so that you never die, but I wouldn't advise doing that unless you're working with Quick Combat pilots (which I always keep seperate from campaigns)

 

 

there are a couple of solutions:

 

1. create some "Quick Combat" pilots. literally first name is "Quick" and the second name is "Combat". change the realism settings before playing this pilot--change the outcome to "Easiest-- Pilot Never Dies". this way you can get killed over and over again until the end of time and you won't have to create another Quick Combat player. I usually have my "Quick Combat" players first--just to get them out of the way and make room for the campaigns.

 

fly all of the aircraft for each side so that you get a good feel for them. there are machines that seem unbeatable in campaigns until you actually fly them. in the way each side had "Aircraft Parks" where pilots could actually fly enemy machines and figure out what they could do. since there is no way of doing that in a campaign--this is the best solution.

 

 

2. regarding campaigns:

 

SHORT ANSWER:

every claim should have the aircraft type, altitude, place, time, witnesses. always try to include some sort of descriptive detail--even if it's something simple like "there was a red nose" or "I saw a big number '1' on the upper wing". if you already know the squadron (cuz you've shot down 5 or 6 planes from them before) then include the squadron number or the name of the AI pilot if you recognize their paint-scheme. if your wingies are dead--then they'll ignore your claim.

 

LONG ANSWER

 

Before every mission take a piece of paper and write down the names of your wingmen

(all of them, from Flight 1 and Flight 2--if this is applicable. early in the war you may be providing escort for other members of your flight if your in a bomber squadron-- so even if Boelcke, Immelmann, and Parschau aren't assigned to your actual flight, write down their names anyway! these AI aces are generally immortal. so if you include them as witnesses in your claim it helps. I haven't had a chance to prove this yet, but even if all of my fellow Fokker pilots were shot down-- if I'm close enough that one of these AI aces saw me, it might tip a victory claim in my favor)

 

write down the major waypoints and landmarks that you'll be flying over. so if you know that you have to fly over Monthussart Ferme aerodrome on the way to military defense 413 keep that in mind. you'll usually have combat within close range of some landmarks. I usually note them ahead of time OR as soon as I see blips on the horizon I'll take a quick look at the map and highlight the nearest aerodrome and write that down.

 

include the altitude, location, and time for the battle. sometimes a battle will start in one place and move somewhere else. the place where you started shooting is very seldom the place where the enemy falls--and THAT is the primary concern of getting claims confirmed. the Home Office wants to know where the wreckage is. they don't care too much if you chased a two-seater 25 miles from Arras before getting them.

 

if you can't keep track of everything--then by all means pause the game for a second to make a quick note of what's going on. it's JUST A GAME. as you get better and more experienced then you can try to play everything in real-time (if that's within your abilities and inclinations). besides, as a newbie, pausing the game to write down notes will help you become a better sim-pilot.

 

more to the point, it allows you to notice those important details which are required to get claims confirmed. take a look around, figure out where your wingmen are. it's better to get one victory and have everybody home--get things confirmed--and everybody wins. if you keep shooting at stuff just because you can--and you lose sight of your wingmen--then ultimately that's going to prove fatal in the long run.

 

case in point, I went through a LOT of trouble to rescue my fellow AI wingmen with FA62 (with a campaign called "Albert Beuhlighen" and that definitely payed off. I rescued my flight leader once on a mission--and then the VERY next mission (on the same day) he saved my life THREE TIMES! I was dead to rights on a couple of battles--so it's definitely worth it to keep your wingmen alive.

 

don't wander off after enemy machines unless your behind friendly lines. even then, you can't really expect to get any kills confirmed. however, I think it's worth the trouble of shooting down enemy planes even if you can't get them confirmed. this will give you practice, build up your confidence, and it helps by destroying another enemy machine.

 

WHEN YOU FILL OUT CLAIMS START WITH THE UNDENIABLE VICTORY. start off with the victory where you KNOW somebody saw it. I had one victory where I'm positive that there was a witness--but unfortunately that witness actually crashed later in the battle--so I had to assume that he was dead--but, in fact, he was merely wounded. even if your witness crashes, writing down their name will help get your victory confirmed. I always include the names of just about every member of my flight as a precaution-- because I can't always tell who's nearby. if you want to be absolutely certain, then turn on the lables immediately after you kill--so you can write down the name. cuz, one of the problems of CFS3 is that every machine in a flight looks exactly the same. I know some people frown upon the use of labels, but when it comes to confirming victories--it just makes sense. find your nearest wingmen, turn the labels on, and write down their name.

 

AFTER THE DEFINITE KILLS start writing down the ones that "you know" you got... sure, you think you got them, but they might have been destroyed by ground fire. if you don't have the information display on then you've got absolutely no way of telling if you destroyed something or not. so, it's better to write everything out in "reverse order". it has nothing to do with chronology. I've found it's better to start with my third claim, if it's undeniable, then work my way down the other claims that are less solid. this way when you get the dreaded "claims erroneous" rather than having to rewrite EVERYTHING from scratch, you can simply change the number "4" or "3" to "0" and settle for a mere two victory claims. the first 'kill' of the day might be the most easily contested and should therefore be LAST on the list of claims submissions.

 

 

AVOID combat if you don't have several advantages. (superior numbers, height, speed, home-court advantage, etc) if you're flying a Fokker E.III (or a Halberstadt D.II) all by yourself and you see a flight of FE2b approaching you--don't even THINK about attacking them if your behind enemy lines. even if you're behind friendly lines it's not generally worth the risk. on the other hand, if you encounter six FE2b behind your lines and your flying a Roland C.II or a DFW C.V then it MIGHT be worth the trouble. both of these machines are faster than the 'Fee' and have a fixed forward-firing machine gun that can give them a real advantage in attacks.

 

avoid flying low--the main reason I get SO MANY of my pilots killed is that I like to fly for bomber pukes--AND I like to get down in the weeds when I drop my bombs. this is a really, REALLY good way to get killed. if you see that a dogfight is getting down in the weeds and it's not over friendly territory--or you THINK you might get taken under fire from enemy anti-aircraft positions just let the enemy run away. preserve your altitude, maybe you'll find another enemy plane to shoot down-- getting down low and slow is how Manfred von Richthofen and Edward Mannock got themselves killed. I think both of them were killed by ground fire. there's very little evasive manuevering you can do to offset the impact of dozens of machine gun nests opening fire on you!

[griphos 0]

Everyone has given good advice on claims, and there are several threads so a search should turn those up, but to put it in brief, in the narrative, write down:

 

• where (i.e., 4 miles NW of Lyons, or 2 miles west of Etriennes airfield, etc...pause the game and look on the map if you have to, and a mention of your altitude relative to theirs when you spotted them doesn't hurt),
  

• altitude of fight,
  

• number of shots fired (estimate is good enough...70 rounds, etc.),
  

• brief description of planes you shot (colors, markings),
  

• squadron if you know it (use labels briefly to identify),
  

• description of kind of crash (he spun in, he lost a wing, he flamed, etc),
  

• location of crashed enemy (near road or airfield, etc),
  

• what you did after (continued on mission, returned to base, etc),
  

• and the names of your mates (even if you're not sure they saw it or made it back).
  

Doesn't take a book, but these details, even in brief, should get you in the 80-90 percentile and most of your claims confirmed. I haven't had one rejected yet with these details.

Edited May 10, 2009 by griphos

[Rick Rawlings 136]

I would also add that I don't think it matters much what you put in your claim form. Make sure you put down the name of someone in your flight, even if you are on a solo mission. Other than that, I get 70-80% confirmation with some relatively general stuff like: "Engaged tan enemy scouts northbound at 7000 feet elevation. After several turns, I was able to get behind one and fire 60 rounds into the cockpit, observing many hits. After this, the scout was seen to crash into a field four miles west of the front lines."

 

Now, if I had said southbound instead of northbound or 5000 feet instead of 7000 feet or 40 rounds instead of 60 rounds, or ochre instead of tan, would it have made a bit of difference? I seriously doubt it since I am just estimating anyway and they mostly seem to get confirmed...

 

Hope that helps, and remember, the calm, cool pilot tends to live longer. Writing you posts in your opponent's blood does not denote the temperment of a long-burning candle...

 

RR

 

ps- kudos to griphos on the bulleted format, very classy!

[catch 81]

I would also add that I don't think it matters much what you put in your claim form.

 

I'd back Rick up. It's a lot of fun writing up a bit of story with accurate coordinates etc but that's all it is ... a bit of fun. You can put anything in there (as long as you at least include your wingman's name) that bears no relationship to what actually happened and you'll still get claims. For example, I frequently use "near Bourlon Wood" as the site of the EA's demise. I don't even know where it is or if it existed in France. But it sounds good and I get claims.

[TSmoke 2]

Not to be an Ahole but holy jesus kid use any other colour for your text but red!!!!. Should send you my optometrists bill.

[Macklroy 2]

Some good points here so far Bruce.

 

#1 priority before you enter the mission: Take note of your wingmates names (i write them down on a scratch paper so i can spell them correctly). Under 'witnesses' on your claims form, put ALL of your wingmates names in. Example; Tom Jones, Dick Tracy, Santa Clause

 

Other than that, if you know the plane type, select it from the 'drop down' menu on the claims form. My confirmation success rate was a meger 50% when I simply put "single seat" in for the type of craft destroyed. But now that I'm learning to ID the enemy scouts (I play with labels off) I have been entering them in and getting closet to 90% confirmation.

 

A typical claim form has these elements:

 

-Names of pilots in your flight.

-General location of enemy crash site.

-Altitude (low, medium, high seems to work)

-Some type of description of encounter. (ex: fired short burst / scored hits on engine, wings, tail, etc / smoke visible / flames visible / out of control / crashed in flames.

 

Those are just some examples. But #1!!!!! you MUST have witnesses. If ALL your wingmates get shot down your chances of a confirmation go down with them. Try to keep them alive, or at least 1 or 2 and you'll find that they will put in a good word for that Albatross you shot off their tail.

 

S! and good hunting.

 

PS - one of my earlier pilots shot down an enemy albatross that ended up slamming into a hangar at my own airfield when it crashed. I was 'not' given credit for the kill. Sometimes your paperwork just gets lost or pushed aside. Dont forget there IS a war goin on out there.

[RAF_Louvert 101]

Welcome to the OFF skies Bruce. Hold on tight, you are in for a bumpy ride...and a great one! And I must make the same request as TSmoke...no more red text, please. Nearly lost my kippers on the screen when your post popped up this AM.

 

Cheers!

 

Lou